Polanski to be moved - quietly

2009-11-26 16:04

Geneva - Roman Polanski will be quietly transferred from a Zurich jail to house arrest in his Alpine chalet, Swiss authorities said on Thursday, adding that the process will last at least another day.

Polanski was being held in a Swiss jail a day after a court granted him release on $4.5m bail, the Swiss Justice Ministry said. The 76-year-old director, who must wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, will not be released on Thursday, ministry spokesperson Folco Galli said.

The transfer would be handled discreetly, said Galli.

"We don't want to show him off like an exotic animal," he said. "It will not be a matter of hours ... The bail has to be transferred, transport needs to be organised and the house arrest must be organised."

The Swiss justice minister said she saw no reason to challenge the surprise decision, but Galli said a final decision has yet to be made on waiving an appeal. Authorities will also decide "in a couple of weeks" whether to extradite Polanski for fleeing sentencing in Los Angeles over three decades years ago, he said.

Major win

The bail decision was a major win for the director of The Pianist after a series of legal setbacks following his arrest on September 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.

He has been held in a Zurich-area prison, believed to be in Winterthur, but Warden Walter Vogt said on Thursday that Polanski "could be here or he could be in Bern", Switzerland's capital.

Polanski was accused of raping the 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and a Quaalude pill during a modelling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy, but he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse.

In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. The evaluator released Polanski after 42 days, but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve out the 90 days.

Polanski then fled the US on February 1 1978, the day he was to be sentenced, and has lived in France since. The court last month rejected Polanski's first bail offer, with his Gstaad chalet as collateral.

Before the decision on Wednesday's, Polanski offered a bank guarantee that would cause him to sacrifice his family's home in Paris if he flees justice again.

"I am very happy and relieved," Mathilde Seigner, Polanski's sister-in-law told Le Parisien daily, adding that the director's imprisonment had "enormous consequences on a psychological level" for his children. After Polanski's release, "we're going to drink a nice glass of Champagne and toast together", she said.

Flight risk

Polanski claims the judge and prosecutors in the US acted improperly in his case. His attorneys will argue before a California appeals court in December that the charges should be dismissed regardless of whether Polanski is extradited.

For the duration of the extradition procedures, it appears Polanski will be confined to his $1.6m chalet surrounded by snow-capped peaks on the outskirts of Gstaad, one of the most exclusive winter resorts in the world.

Celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Roger Moore have called the town home, and it remains popular with celebrities and royalty.

In the village famous for its discretion, some people weren't pleased with all the attention.

"I don't want to talk about what he did," said Martin von Gruenigen, a retired dairy farmer, as he walked his dog in front of Polanski's home. "I have little contact with the rich. Life is quiet here, but there are things I don't like at all here. Like the rich buying all the houses, so we locals can't afford to buy a house."

Polanski's "Milky Way" is a large chalet with a stunning view of the surrounding Alps, including the strikingly snow-capped Ruebli peak. The three-story building with a white stucco wall topped by the brown wooden upper floors appeared deserted on Thursday.

The court said Polanski would be subjected to "constant electronic surveillance" at his chalet and an alarm would be activated if he leaves the premises or takes off the bracelet. The filmmaker is still seen a high flight risk, according to the court.

- AP